Who said this top flow is crazy! This top flow is awesome!

Chapter 279 Yue Na's Precarious Situation, the Winner of the Resurrection Match

Each film release period has its own market size, and the cinema scheduling is like the distribution of profits; the cinema that gets the most shares makes more money, and the cinema that gets the least shares makes less money.

It's like sharing a meal from the same bowl. If my share is bigger than yours, or I can even steal your food, then you'll go hungry.

This is the biggest reason why the film industry is so "hostile" towards Ikeno.

This is also the core motivation behind the Beijing elite's recent underhanded tactics.

Unfortunately, Flu is now showing signs of winning the revival round, so their expected Lunar New Year box office landscape will be disrupted, and the first to be affected will be Ikeno's rivals.

The overall movie market is only so big. If a film of "Flu" is to be released, it will naturally have to compete with other films for market share. As for which films it will compete with, that goes without saying.

The major cinema chains understand Ikeno's "demand" because, in a sense, they are on the same side as Ikeno—as long as it makes money, they don't care what industry it is; giving up screenings to more profitable films is only right.

Is "Flu" considered a profitable movie now?
How much money can it actually make?

It remains to be seen, but it is expected that, after various controversies, "Flu" has become one of the most anticipated films of this year's Spring Festival season.

Let's place a bet, let's place a bet.

"How many screenings do you think they'll give us?"

Chino walked towards the parking lot, asking the team members who had come with him to discuss the collaboration.

"Hmm... it shouldn't be less than 'Bureau 749'."

The team members are professionals. After thinking for a moment, he said, "After we withdrew from the release, '749 Bureau' got one-third of our screenings, 'Detective Chinatown 3' got one-third, and the other one-third was divided up by several other companies. We should be able to get them all back this time."

"Is it just about getting it back?"

"...It should be more than before, but we don't know exactly how much more. The main problem is that we haven't decided whether it will be released at all yet. The Spring Festival season is coming up soon, and time is a bit tight. But the management is still waiting for news from here..."

The team members hesitated to speak.

The investors of "Flu" returned to China in a very tight timeframe. According to the idea of ​​several overseas distributors, "Flu" needed to be scheduled for release as soon as possible and prepare for its official global premiere.

However, since it coincided with the Chinese New Year, and "Flu" was already scheduled for release on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the distributors were quite "understanding"—

It's impossible not to understand. Although they didn't invest in "Flu," the better the overall global box office performance of "Flu," the more it will affect their cooperation and the performance of the person in charge internally.

In addition, with such massive support from overseas, there are bound to be sensitive issues behind the scenes, such as rebates and the division of profits.

In short, if "Flu" can be released during this year's Spring Festival, that would be ideal. If not, then overseas release dates need to be set as soon as possible.

—While the Cannes buzz is still going strong and "Flu" has just started to gain critical acclaim, we should capitalize on this momentum and quickly monetize it.

Every day that is delayed means another day of loss.

Coco is still in Cannes, waiting for news from Ikeno.

"Will we be able to make it into this year's Spring Festival film season? There's still no news from the authorities."

As everyone stepped outside the van, some looked worried.

Ikeno didn't say anything, opened the car door and got in.

"Brother Chi, it's a call from China Film Group."

Xiao Liu, who had been in the car answering the phone, handed over the phone.

Chi Ye's expression remained unchanged, but the others exchanged glances and were instantly overjoyed—it's here, it seems like it's going to work out.

……

Since Ikeno returned to Japan, major cinema chains across the country have been unusually proactive, but giants like China Film Group have maintained their reserve.

If China Film Group, as a state-owned enterprise, takes the lead in communicating and discussing cooperation details with Ikeno, it means that the higher-ups are really going to "release" "Flu".

This year's Spring Festival film season is sure to be very lively.

Therefore, even if they call Ikeno before receiving definite information, they will definitely focus on communication and lay the groundwork in advance.

The fact that they came to "urge" Ikeno this time must mean they received definite information.

really.

This time, the caller wasn't the same little Karami from last time, but a well-known bigwig in the industry.

He immediately asked, "Can 'Flu' still be scheduled for release on the first day of the Lunar New Year?"

Chiye replied: "Okay."

The expert confirmed: "Is there enough time?"

"There's still time. We were already prepared. As long as the review goes smoothly, we can get started immediately."

"...Come over sometime to discuss the issue of theatrical scheduling."

The big shot paused for a moment, then ultimately said nothing more and hung up the phone.

Chi Ye could sense from the way the other party had interrogated him several times that they really hoped "Flu" would miss the Spring Festival release window—the reason was simple: "they" hadn't invested much in "Flu" privately.

As for the "blockbuster produced by China Film Group" mentioned by the China Film Times... don't be ridiculous, that's just riding the wave of popularity and trying to gain political achievements.

On the contrary, the other major films released during the Spring Festival had very high investment ratios.

Therefore, whether from a personal perspective or not... this bigwig, and some members of the group, do not want "Flu" to be released during this year's Spring Festival.

Now that you've already released your film, why do you need to steal our thunder during the Spring Festival season?
After the Spring Festival season is over, can't you just release it at a different time and do it on your own?

Ikeno's answer was simple—no.

They're all about grabbing meat and screen time.

"Ugh."

Inside an office at China Film Group Corporation.

The big boss hung up the phone and frowned: "It seems he's determined to make it to the Spring Festival release window."

"Has it been confirmed by higher-ups? Has it really been approved?"

"...Ever since 'Flu' was officially announced to have premiered in 156 countries, Zhang Hai, who is in charge of this area, has been going crazy, shouting every day. The higher-ups...the higher-ups also think this is an opportunity."

The big boss thought for a moment and sighed: "Ikeno left a very good impression on them before. If it weren't for Ke Ying, 'Flu' would probably have been scheduled for the Spring Festival release a long time ago."

"So Ke Ying just left? He ran away halfway through the task?"

"It's gained momentum, how can we control it? And I heard... never mind, let's not talk about it. Anyway, let's prepare for 'Flu' to steal our market this time."

"What bad luck! This actually made it to the big screen... What about all those movies that were blocked before?"

Upon hearing this, the big boss remained silent, but another person sitting in the office suddenly spoke up: "Right now, we just hope that 'Flu' will be cut a lot. Foreign countries are different from China. The expectations of domestic audiences have already been raised. If it is cut too much, it may not be able to meet those expectations."

"It might even backfire."

"Is there any hope?" The group looked at the big boss.

The bigwig paused, then shook his head: "I don't know."

……

Regarding the censorship of "Flu" in mainland China, with the help of several parties, it was approved very quickly and without much suspense. To be precise, this time it can be considered a green channel, because the higher authorities have already seen the original film of "Flu" in the past few days.

They felt that the content of "Influenza" about "mutual benefit and cooperation" between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait was of great "propaganda" value.

This is the biggest reason why "Flu" was released without any cuts.

Yes, it's uncut, or rather, apart from the ending which uses the first version, there are no other cuts except for a few minor gory scenes.

If he put on this project and it still ends up being heavily censored before release, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain? The near-uncensored version is the limit that Ikeno could achieve. In fact, it's no different from the uncensored version, perfectly preserving the excitement and thrill of "Flu".

That evening, the official Weibo account of "Influenza," which had been silent for a long time, suddenly posted a message:
[Red Lanterns] New Year's Eve, Dispelling Poison [Red Lanterns]

[A family gathering around the fire on a night of toasts and laughter—]

[You have received a New Year's package: Survival Guide × 0, Human Relationship Stress Test × 24 hours]

[Urgent Break: 5 days until the first #SuperSpreader train departs—]

February 13, 2027, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The city's temperatures have spiraled out of control.

[Friendly reminder: Please confirm that your friend's pupils do not have a blurred vision before recording your viewing.]

Below is a poster promoting the Taiwan Body Temperature Code.

The background is a monitor screen in a train carriage during the Spring Festival travel rush in Taiwan. Zhang Lin (played by Chi Ye) stares at the electronic body temperature code (flu detector) generated on his mobile phone. The temperature is randomly displayed as 35℃ (normal) / 42℃ (the threshold for corpse transformation).

He raised his head, his pupils were gray and dilated, and his face was covered with bluish-gray lines.

The poster reads: "Next stop: Hsinchu."

The poster's release caused an instant uproar on Weibo, Douyin, and among Chi Ye's fans, both inside and outside the entertainment industry.

"Holy crap, it's here, it's finally here!"

"What a cool poster! What a handsome guy! Will he turn into a zombie if he gets the flu?"

"GD finally did something decent."

"I now know how much was cut, and I hope to see an uncut version... but I guess that's impossible."

"It's already the best outcome that it's even made it. In any case, it's China's first industrialized commercial blockbuster, and it's sold its rights to 156 countries worldwide. We must support it!"

"I even dreamt yesterday that 'Flu' was getting a new release date, and today it actually came true! Ikeno, my god!"

"This copywriting is pretty good, it has that vibe, but what does 'next stop, Hsinchu' mean? Why does it feel a little creepy?"

"I was fortunate enough to see it live in Cannes once... I can only say that I hope that after seeing it, no one will have a psychological aversion to 'Hsinchu'... um."

"Fast forward to Chinese New Year's Day, I can't wait!"

"..."

The second official announcement of the release date for "Flu" has generated even more buzz and controversy than expected.

On the same day, overseas distributors and partners who purchased the rights to "Flu" also officially announced the news, so the global premiere naturally had to be on the same day.

Therefore, the announcement of the release date for "Flu" has generated far more buzz than the first time it was announced, and its impact is debatable.

It's unclear overseas, but in Southeast Asia, "Flu" is currently generating more buzz than Ikeno's previous works, "The Boss" and "Girl".

It seems almost certain that it will surpass the box office performance of these two films in Southeast Asia.

As for how much it will surpass, that depends on whether "Flu" is really as exciting as it's been hyped up.

On the same day.

Inside Chen Sicheng's company.

The marketing campaign was also very aggressive during this period, and the creators of "Detective Chinatown 3," who were basically in the final stages of the project, learned of this news.

Chen Sicheng's first reaction was to call his contacts: "How many have you deleted?"

"...The ending is the first version. Apart from a few scenes, not much was cut."

"Didn't delete it?"

Chen Sicheng frowned instantly: "I've heard that this movie is very bloody..."

"Domestic war films are even bloodier than this."

Chen Sicheng: "..."

"The first ending and the second ending... that's already a big change, isn't it?"

"...It doesn't affect the plot, it's just the difference between death and life at the end. The mainland definitely can't show a second ending. In the end, we're all one family."

Chen Sicheng remained silent.

He hadn't seen "Flu"—aside from its premiere in Cannes, nobody had actually seen it.

The actual audience for that screening was only a few hundred people, and they came from all over the world. Now, 99% of those people online who boast about having seen "Flu" are just bragging.

His connection is with one of the bigwigs in the review department, so they really did look at it.

"Be prepared, this movie has never been made in China before."

"……understood."

Chen Sicheng hung up the phone, turned to look at the group of main cast members staring at him, and suddenly caught sight of the promotional poster for "Detective Chinatown 3." For some reason, the displeasure he felt about being "robbed of market share" vanished instantly.

This time, they're releasing the most amazing Detective Chinatown series of his directorial career, and it's even after the first two films have already built up a strong reputation.

—With pre-sales alone, "Detective Chinatown 3" has already earned nearly 3 million yuan, making it almost a certainty to be the box office champion on the first day of the Spring Festival.

During the Spring Festival, people are more interested in comedies and family-friendly films. Who the hell wants to watch zombie movies during the New Year?

Doesn't that mean Chunchun is mentally ill?

Chi Ye is too eager to make money, insisting on releasing it during the Spring Festival season. What does he have to be afraid of?

"Everyone should do their job and do a good job in the final promotional work before the release. We don't need to pay too much attention to other competitors. Our series is invincible."

After he finished speaking, the main cast members exchanged glances, and Liu Haoran, one of the male leads, laughed: "I told you long ago, but you never listened."

"...The main reason is that I'm really envious of his screening schedule. Now that he insists on showing his films, I'll just tell him whose show is the Spring Festival season."

"It should have been done a long time ago. Why should we meddle in other people's business? We should just do our own thing."

"Director Chen is right."

"Speaking of which, could we try to reach 5 million yuan in box office revenue on the opening day this time? The box office has really come back to life this year, it's so hot."

"..."

The main creators started chatting.

……

at the same time.

Yue Na Headquarters.

Still under investigation and in a precarious state, Yue Na has received another piece of bad news.

Upon returning from abroad and taking over all affairs, CEO Liu asked in a bewildered voice, "What did you say? 'Flu' isn't in our theaters? Is Chi Ye not making money?!"

"The person who communicated with him said... Ikeno said we have too few theaters, he doesn't need that much..."

The person on the other end of the phone was trembling with fear.

Boss Liu slammed his fist on the table: "Does he really want to destroy us?!"

(End of this chapter)